UFC Legend Mark Coleman Blames Chris Jericho for Blocking WWE Move

During the late 90s and early 2000s, UFC fighters transitioning to WWE was becoming a thing, especially thanks to Ken Shamrock. However, UFC legend Mark Coleman never made his way to WWE and now he has blamed Chris Jericho for blocking him from joining WWE.

While speaking to Hannibal TV, UFC legend Mark Coleman was asked why he didn’t do more pro wrestling after his MMA career, especially since he showed a lot of potential.

Coleman explained that WWE did bring him to one of their shows, but he showed up extremely drunk. While he was ringside, he ended up messing around with Chris Jericho, who had just been thrown out of the ring. Coleman was at ringside yelling at Jericho like a regular fan, calling him names and trying to fire him up.

Jericho looked up at Coleman, flipped him off, and said something back. After that, Jericho went backstage and complained to management. Soon after, Coleman was no longer allowed backstage and WWE never reached out to him again.

“As far as WWE goes, they did bring me to one of the shows. I showed up pretty drunk—very, very drunk. I got backstage and started messing with Chris Jericho. He had just been thrown out of the ring, and I was at ringside yelling at him like a fan. I said, ‘Get up, Jericho, you p****!’ Stuff like that. He looked up, made eye contact with me, flipped me off, and said something back. Then he went backstage and complained to whoever was in charge. Not long after, I wasn’t allowed backstage anymore. And I never heard from them again.”

Looking back, Coleman believes WWE really blew it. He felt he could have had amazing matches with guys like Kurt Angle and others, and they would have torn the house down. He also took a shot at Jericho, saying it seemed like typical behavior, trying to protect his spot and not wanting another top guy coming in.

“But yeah, they blew it. They blew it, because I could’ve had some epic matches—with Kurt Angle and a few other guys. We would’ve freaking killed it. That seems like typical Chris Jericho—protecting his spot, whining about another top guy coming in. Yeah, whatever. P****.”

Mark Coleman’s missed chance to join WWE remains one of wrestling’s more interesting “what if” moments. Whether it was due to Chris Jericho, WWE’s choices, or just bad timing and personal factors, Coleman still feels he had what it took to succeed in WWE.

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